Sound intensity level or acoustic intensity level is a logarithmic measure of the sound intensity (measured in W/m2), in comparison to a reference level.
The measure of a ratio of two sound intensities is
where I1 and I0 are the intensities.
The sound intensity level is given the letter "LI" and is measured in "dB". The decibel is a dimensionless quantity.
If I0 is the standard reference sound intensity
(W = watt), then instead of "dB SPL" we use "dB SIL". (SIL = sound intensity level).
Read more about this topic: Sound Intensity
Famous quotes containing the words sound, intensity and/or level:
“some petals fall
with that sound one
listens for....”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“We may say that feelings have two kinds of intensity. One is the intensity of the feeling itself, by which loud sounds are distinguished from faint ones, luminous colors from dark ones, highly chromatic colors from almost neutral tints, etc. The other is the intensity of consciousness that lays hold of the feeling, which makes the ticking of a watch actually heard infinitely more vivid than a cannon shot remembered to have been heard a few minutes ago.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (18391914)
“The man who loves other countries as much as his own stands on a level with the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife.”
—Theodore Roosevelt (18581919)

